U.S. Suggests All Baby Boomers Should Get Tested for Hepatitis C

U.S. health officials are proposing all baby boomers get tested for hepatitis C, because they’re five times more likely than other adults to have the potentially fatal liver virus and many might not know they’re at risk.

Of the more than 70 million baby boomers — those born from 1945 to 1965 – 800,000 may have contracted the liver virus decades ago from unsafe blood transfusions or experimental drug use and not gotten tested, U.S. health officials say. Many neglect getting tested, because they’ve forgotten getting a transfusion or drug use, or they’re unaware they could be at risk. For those baby boomers who do remember risky actions, some may balk at telling their doctor.

So, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday proposed a recommendation that all members of that generation get a one-time blood test for Hepatitis C. About two-thirds of the 3.2 million U.S. adults with hepatitis C is a baby boomer, the CDC said.